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5 Huge Takeaways From SmackDown Live- A Rift In Kami

This week's SmackDown Live marked the last of four straight days of big shows in Philadelphia for WWE. The blue brand certainly had some tough acts to follow too. A tremendous TakeOver, memorable Royal Rumble, and new look for Raw made for a pretty entertaining few days. There was plenty of Royal Rumble fall out left for SmackDown Live to deal with though. Could the Tuesday night show follow suit and successfully begin its road to WrestleMania? Here are five huge takeaways from WWE's final night in Philly.

Raw opened with Asuka on Monday night, so it was only right that SmackDown Live started Tuesday night's show with their very own Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura. The King of Strong Style came to the ring and was allowed more promo time than he has ever been granted before. He was still quickly interrupted by Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens though. The two Canadians feel robbed after their match on Sunday night and want another shot at the title. Well, unsurprisingly General Manager Daniel Bryan granted them that, sort of. On next week's SmackDown Live Owens and Zayn will have to go one on one against each other and the winner will face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at Fastlane.

For months, now The Bludgeon Brothers have been decimating lesser teams on SmackDown Live most weeks without much purpose, whether that be unknown local talents or Breezango and The Ascension. They did that once again this past Tuesday, but things were a little different this time around. Before the match, the current SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos were in the ring. Harper and Rowan did not wait for them to clear out and for the first time the two teams' paths crossed. A match between the two teams is on the horizon and it may be coming a lot sooner than we think.

Owens and Zayn going head to head won't be the only big match taking place on next week's SmackDown Live. Bobby Roode will also be putting his United States Title on the line and a number one contender was decided on Tuesday night via a fatal four-way match. The competitors in the bout were Jinder Mahal, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, and the ever-popular Rusev. All the men in the match had supporters at ringside, well apart from Ryder, and eventually, things got so chaotic that they were all sent to the back. With that, all that was left was to discover which of the four men in the ring would win out, and to the jubilation of the WWE Universe, it was The Bulgarian Brute. What a win, and on Rusev Day of all days!

The Royal Rumble went off the air with a lot of questions left unanswered. The biggest of those questions was who will be facing who in the Women's Championship matches at WrestleMania. With an episode of Raw and SmackDown Live now in the rearview mirror that landscape is still not any clearer. Charlotte Flair came to the ring on Tuesday night and before she could really address the situation she was beaten down by The Riott Squad. Then came the potential shock. Miss Money In The Bank Carmella came running down the ramp with every intention of cashing in. Unfortunately, the referee got knocked to the floor before the cash in became official. With Flair getting back to her feet the Princess of Staten Island quickly changed her mind and returned to the locker room.

The night began with two main events being announced by Daniel Bryan, one for later that evening and also the one for next week's show. While Zayn and Owens had to team together this week, they would have to face one another seven days later. Clearly, the idea that only one of them will be getting a WWE Title shot played on their mind straight away and the tag match did not go well for them. After Zayn was knocked from the apron and hence wasn't there for Owens to tag, KO got annoyed with him. The Underdog threatened to leave and when the animosity continued between the two of them he eventually did, leaving his partner at the mercy of Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles. Are they no longer friends or is it all a clever plan on the Canadians' part?